A new web app has been released which enables users to browse, watch and listen to YouTube videos while reading the related Wikipedia content at the same time. This type of simultaneous YouTube and Wikipedia browsing has not previously been available anywhere on the internet and the result is a powerful, unique and entirely free music research tool.
Music Research Engine was developed by Oliver Braithwaite, Director of Stars & Catz Music Teacher Network, to enable music students to research the context and history of the music and artists they’re studying in a more convenient, complete and engaging way than was previously possible. It has been released as part of a free suite of music tools, resources and downloads available on each of the company’s websites.
“I didn’t know that this would be a world-first when I started developing the tool,” said Oliver, “but as the project progressed, I searched Google for ‘YouTube and Wikipedia combined’ along with other search terms and realised that we’d come up with something that hadn’t been done before. I was quite surprised, to be honest, because it seems like such an obvious fit.”
Here’s how the tool works: The user enters a search for a song, composer or anything else music related. The search results include up to 150 YouTube videos which can be browsed and viewed without navigating away from the search results, along with the matching article from Wikipedia. From there the user may browse more deeply into the subject by clicking on the links contained within the Wikipedia article which, rather than leading off to Wikipedia, launch further results within Music Research Engine.
“A student must be familiar with a song in order to feel engaged in learning it,” said Oliver. “On top of that, knowing about the personalities and history behind the music can make the difference between the student staying interested and inspired or losing interest, so it’s vitally important. That’s why we created Music Research Engine.”
Along with Music Research Engine, the free suite includes piano, guitar and ukulele chord dictionary tools, backing tracks for improvisation, free eBooks, printable music sheets, a metronome, over 240 inspirational music quote images and more. The entire suite is desktop, mobile and tablet friendly.
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